Attorney General to investigate Chinese project in mid-Missouri

The growing chorus of voices complaining about the fate of a half-built plant in Moberly, Missouri, is getting louder.

Today, Missouri's Attorney General chimed in, saying that his office would investigate whether the Mamtek USA project violated any state civil or criminal laws.

Mamtek promised in 2010 to open an artificial sweetener factory in Moberly, employing about 600 people. The city issued $39 million in bonds and the state of Missouri pledged $17 million in aid. However, the company missed its first bond payment this month, leaving the city on the hook. The plant sits half-finished in central Missouri and no one has been hired by the company. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch outlined the history of the project in Thursday's editions.

Republican Party officials have been criticizing the Missouri Department of Economic Development's role in the project and they've pointed a finger directly at Governor Jay Nixon's administration for pushing the project without fully vetting Mamtek.

Today, Attorney General Chris Koster issued a press release saying that his office would immediately begin "assisting Prosecuting Attorney Mike Fusselman and the Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in reviewing this matter..."